Stuffed bell peppers Italian style

When you think of autumn, what foods come to mind? For me, stuffed bell peppers are front runner. There’s nothing like the flavors of roasted peppers and the oh so customizable filling that goes inside. I’ve been tweaking that filling for years and I think I found a winner as my “go to” recipe. Behold, stuffed bell peppers Italian style!

I rightfully declared they are done Italian style because I added Italian sausage, parsley, onion and garlic. Its kind of a rustic dish that compliments the fall season as the leaves turn colors. If you don’t have a fall season then I’m sorry.

The best part about stuffed bell peppers is that you can customize your colors. I like a couple colors of each kind (when the colored peppers aren’t $2 a piece).

Here are a few amazing tricks while making this stuffed bell pepper recipe.

1st: Cut the stems off the pepper by slicing through the it a half inch or so below the stem. Then clean the pepper. Use the left over bell pepper around the stem to dice up and put in your stuffing.

2nd: A simple way to ensure that your peppers are tender is to par boil them for 4 minutes before stuffing and baking them. It saves on the overall cooking time as well.

3rd. Just before roasting your peppers, put 1/4 of an inch of water in the bottom of the baking pan. This will help keep your peppers deliciously moist. I know I have been disappointed before by dried out stuffing or peppers. This really helps.

Cook the rice according to package directions and clean/ par boil the bell peppers for 4 minutes.

Remove the sausage from casings and combine with hamburger in a large skillet to brown. About 8 minutes. Add in the diced parsley, diced green onion, diced garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes.

Pour in the pureed tomatoes and stir in the white rice.

Stuff each of the bell peppers and place in a raised baking dish. Pour in enough water to cover the bottom of the baking dish. This helps with moisture. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the stuffed bell peppers from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

I never put a carb in my stuffed peppers. I use my choice of ground meat and then chop onions, celery, gatlic, or even carrots to mix with the meat. MY FAVE IS TO MIX RAW SPINACH, RAW MUSHROOMS, AND GARLIC WITH ITALISN SAUSAGE AND TOP WITH PARM AND ROMANO THENLAST 5MINS… hope this helps😉